This move to customers using multiple channels at all times has been supported further by the prevalence of smart phones. Internet access from almost anywhere is easy today and the culture of engagement has been accelerated because of this.

Recent legislation has introduced shared parental leave but women are as worried as ever about the impact of parenthood on their job and still believe having children will affect their career progression.

Although Snoopy and co. first debuted as a comic strip in the 1950's, the 60's and 70's were the cartoon's heyday. In fact, Woodstock may have first popped up in the 1960s but he didn't actually get a name until 1970.

The Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend exposed the shaky digital infrastructure of a number of Britain's most prominent retailers. Major brands experienced online outages, succumbing to the sheer quantity of customers logging on to splurge their festive millions.

We long for him to stomp along the corridors ranting and raving like a mad man. In a fit of uncontrollable rage, we want him to smash office equipment to bits as he humiliates and insults another of his employees. More than anything though, we hope for a few choice expletives to come out of his mouth.

Magi Monday? Camel Tuesday? No ... Wise Wednesday. A day when you buy gifts in person ... to be delivered in person. Price does matter, but not as much as the act of giving. So Merry Christmas ... and I hope it's a white one.

If the only effort you make with those you love were once a year, you'd likely be left alone at Christmas. So why do brands and retailers show the love disproportionately at Christmas and then revert to the same-old, same-old throughout the rest of the year?

It happens once a year, towards the end of November and has reared it's ugly head again. Black Friday depicts society in a vulnerable and selfish state. Yet we are all victims of it's success by flocking to the sales, hoping to pick up a bargain and will do anything to scoop the best deal by acquiring a state of the art plasma TV, fridge or pair of headphones.

Why, though, must such a key moment in the retail calendar be confined to the sofa? It's one thing entertaining people at home with a wonderful two-minute film, quite another to entice them into shops to stock up on Christmas gifts and order the turkey.

The storm over Uber's consumer privacy settings is just the latest in a growing list of concerns about the tech industry's handling of our data. From general irritation about targeted ads; to deep unease about our personal data security, to fears over the erosion of civil liberties - there is concern about who has access to data about us and what they are doing with it.

Forget the Grinch stealing Christmas. This year, it is a cute little penguin called Monty that not only steals the show, but also the hearts and minds of the UK populace (and softies everywhere). British department store John Lewis has done it again, with a £1 million commercial (US$ 1.5m) that tells the story of a boy and his penguin pal, on the search for a flippered mate.

You ask 10 people and you will get 10 different views on the health of the high street. Then you will get others asking if the high street is still relevant any more. It's not that the debate is polarised, as much as the fact that the changes that have hit retail have been so profound and have happened in such a short space of time that we struggle to make sense of them. Data and statistics only cloud the issue further.

What this does mean is that retailers must become ever adept at creating mobile experiences that are seamless and simply work for a very demanding visitor with a lot of retail choices. If I'm going to invest in visiting M&S in store, I want my online experience with them to flow naturally with the in-store engagement.

I just don't think Amazon can live up to its own expectations when it comes to the bricks and mortar store. Amazon has perfected the art of ecommerce, taking away the risk of buying stuff online, and making it seamless, accessible, and low priced. While it does ecommerce exceptionally well, retail experience it does not.

Technological progress won't wait for planners to help capture this wind of change, it'll happen regardless. But it won't happen everywhere and wouldn't it be better if technological innovation was nurtured and supported to help revitalise high streets that have lost their way and become symbolic of a desperate Britain lacking in confidence?